Great image quality; useable zoom field (good for landscapes and cityscapes just bordering on a wide angle)

Cons:

Good grief this is built like a battleship and weighs the same!

I bought this for a pretty good price used in the UK as finances did not permit me to go for a wider lens like the Sigma 10-22mm (which I had a look at and was very impressed with).

Bang for the buck - could not recommend it enough.

Although it goes down to 2.8 (which is handy for night shots with a 400 or 800ISO - eg, the Christmas markets at the the Tivoli Gardens braced up against a tree!), the best results are at f4 and above.

Have taken some very nice shots (I am still learning on SLR photography I must point out) and am exceptionally happy.

Yes, the manual focus 'clutch' arrangement is wierd and the autofocus could be faster.

However, as a used lens, I could not recommend this enough.

Only downside - it is built of pig-iron and can be used as a fall out shelter: it is built like a tank but weighs about the same! So, can be a bit sore on the neck lugging it around.

I would certainly, after buying this, look at purchasing others in the Tokina range.

Bang for the buck; well-built; exceptional value for someone starting out

Cons:

Noisy AF *but I sort of like it in a quirky way*, would be better with IS but then, for the money, what can you expect.

I bought this lens to go with a Canon EOS300D and primarily to use at airshows. As I am starting out, I neither had the experience nor the funds to justify some of the lens that you see carried around at shows (at Duxford yesterday, there was one fellow with a lens that I am sure was able to take photographs of the lunar rover on the moon!).

For the money, this is astonishingly good value! Yes, without IS you need a steady hand when it is at 300mm (compensated to some degree by upping the ISO) but then, if you have tried to focus lock on a small object at 650knots that is constantly changing the focus position, you have a hard time before you even consider the lens!

The lens hood is an excellent addition and you certainly look the 'pro' - my wife think it way over the top (wonder what she would make of those Canon L glass 'paparazzi' lens!!) - and it gives great pictures for the money and certainly adds reach.

For airshows though, I think 400mm would be better - not yet investigated multipliers

So what am I saying? Well, it won't give an L glass result but then, it is 1/6th of the price!! Buy this used, stick it on a used 300D (like I have) and you will obliterate any non SLR camera you care to mention for the money spent.